"It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both: but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved."
- Machiavelli
...
...
Osmond sighed as he slouched back in his desk. This was a disaster. A complete and utter disaster. The Academy had lost one of, if not its most famous artifact in the Staff of Destruction as a result of Fouquet's attack, and apparently she had attacked and killed Mrs. Chevreuse in the process, as they found her walking the hallways. It appeared that she had ran into Fouquet sometime during the night, and her now permanently shocked expression revealed that she never knew what hit her.
And that wasn't the worst of it. All of the trapped students had been recovered with no deaths. But that did not mean there were no injuries. Malicorne was alive, but as Osmond thought back to his state, perhaps he would have been better off if he had not been rescued. He was no longer capable of either walking or giving off proper speech, and he shown no sign of recognition on seeing Osmond. He would be an invalid, a major blow to the Grandple family. There were two other cases, both third-years that were similar though not as severe, and everyone was naturally severely traumatized by their ordeal. And the Academy would have to answer for this.
After rescuing the trapped male students, he, Colbert, and some of the other staff had immediately set off to check the security of the female students. It seemed that they were unharmed, and had decided to remain where there were after hearing the noises. Naturally, many panicked upon hearing what had indeed happened. The girl Montmorency had screamed, and even now he could recall her grief-stricken expression as she hugged the Gramont boy, whom had remained fine.
There still remained the problem of the Valliere girl. Apparently she had set off with her familiar to Tristania to go shopping, but had not returned. Classes were obviously cancelled until further notice given the circumstances, but he would make sure that he would send a search party if she had not returned by tomorrow afternoon.
He had avoided getting the royal court involved when that girl had summoned her familiar. But now he had no choice. There was little doubt that many of the noble families would make hunting down Fouquet their absolute number one priority, and they would doubtless blame the old man and his incompetence for his disaster. He would have to accept that there was a significant chance that he would be relieved from his post. Hopefully, he could get Colbert to replace him, though he might shoulder the blame – the fact that he took off to help the students without seeing which direction Fouquet had headed in with her golem would also cause some of the families to direct their rage towards him.
The princess and her guards would be arriving soon, possibly tomorrow. For now, he might as well go to sleep, without any "extracurricular activities" with his mouse and crystal ball. It could possibly be the last time he would sleep in it.
...
"Do you mind if I ask you something, Bonaparte?"
He looked back at his partner behind him and grunted in assent. They had finally managed to escape that supposed inn and its hellish master, and were now riding back to the Academy. Derflinger was strapped to his side, and he smiled to himself when he thought about how little he valued cavalrymen in general. If he was wearing a proper military uniform rather than some overbearing cloak and robes, one might have thought he was one of those arrogant horse soldiers.
"You told me that you ruled the entire world, right?"
"Yes?"
"Do you miss it? Your old world, I mean?"
No need to answer that question. It was always better not to give information unless necessary.
"That's an odd question, given that you summoned me. Why are you asking?"
Louise seemed to be avoiding his eyes as she gave her response.
"You ruled the world, right? But because I summoned you, now you're just a partner with a failure of a mage like me. I was thinking, don't you hate me for taking all that away from you?"
Napoleon was honestly surprised. She actually thought about the implications of the summoning ritual, of taking someone or something away from their home.
"First off, as I've told you, you're not a fail- "
"That's enough!"
Louise's tone switched from sorrow to anger.
"I don't need your pity, Bonaparte! So what if I summoned you, I'm still a failure, I can't cast spells like anyone can even after the ritual! I'm still being laughed at, Kirche continues to rant on how I cheated to get you, and I haven't done anything right! Even if you were so great that you ruled the world, don't give me your mercy!"
"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Napoleon broke out into laughter. It was base, hysterical, unrestrained. And Louise's heart flared up in anger.
"Now you're laughing at me, partner?"
Because he was laughing so hard, he had been forced to stop his horse. He once again stared at Louise, with little guffaws breaking out in between his words.
"Pity? Mercy? Was that a joke, Valliere? Do you honestly think that an Emperor can display such sentiments?"
"What?"
Louise spoke up in shock. Of course a ruler must have mercy! Was not Henrietta, whom was so perfectly beloved by everyone in Tristain, an example of that?
"Oh, I showed mercy to my enemies, to induce them to surrender and accept my authority. But to my people? No, I never showed them mercy, Valliere. I drove them without even a slightest drop of it. I pushed them to reach heights where no one had dreamed of reaching, I taught them to charge at the enemy and face certain death without even the slightest instance of fear. And I always berated them, always challenged them to do better and better.
When I was a young general on one of my first campaigns, there was a bridge that needed to be taken. The enemy had heavily defended it. What did I do? I ordered a frontal assault, an attack which I knew and which my men knew would result in great casualties. But they obeyed, because they did not want to fail me. The bridge was taken, and we drove them off. That was the moment when I knew my destiny was to seize the world.
If the men had viewed me as a man of mercy, they would not have charged that bridge, they would have believed that I would forgive them for their failures. A normal commander would have failed to take it."
Louise simply stared in disbelief at Napoleon. It was so apparent that he truly was from a different world, as his ideals of ruling were so contrary to everything she had been taught from her mother and Henrietta.
"Thus, if I believe you are great, I will say so. And Valliere, if I believed that you were a pathetic failure of a mage, I would tell you that. But even then, I would not let you cower in fear because of your failures. If you summoned me, Valliere, then no doubt you wished for greatness. I will bring that to you, but only if you can bring me the will that shows you want it!"
But he was right. That was what she had wished for, when she had cried out for Brimir to give her a demon. There were days when she wondered if he was indeed one. But even if he was, he knew her, and she knew that in this statement, he was absolutely telling the truth.
Napoleon kicked his horse, and as they took off again, he continued to talk.
"Furthermore, I also have an idea on why you've been messing up with your magic. Something this sword over here told me. Apparently I'm not the first humanoid summoning."
"What?"
As Louise gasped at his words, Derflinger took the opportunity to jump in.
"That's right. I used to be under Brimir, whom had…. One, yeah one familiar. An elf named Sasha!"
"W-w-w-wait a moment, are you implying that I'm using the same magic as Brimir? But that's Void magic! I can't be a Void mage, it's a dead magic, one that hasn't been around for years!"
Napoleon raised his hand as he spoke up in response to Louise's denials.
"Why not? I may know nothing about Void Magic, but it clearly makes sense to me. You clearly possess some magic – Siesta isn't capable of causing explosions after all. And you've tried these other elements. Void makes the most sense to me.
Perhaps we can talk to your headmaster when we can get back. I can see the castle from here, and we'll probably get there in about 20 minutes. I'm sure he'll have the time to deal with a familiar's inquiries."
...
Two hours later, Napoleon sighed as he sat down across from Osmond and Colbert, whom was still giving off a hostile aura, though to a lesser degree. Maybe the air was different in this land, because things never kept going the way they were supposed to in this world.
Louise was in the girl's dormitories. There were no classes, but the students were to remain in their living quarters until further notice. Osmond and Colbert had been outraged upon their arrival, and after an incredible haranguing about their whereabouts, the pair of familiar and mage had found out about everything that had happened. Afterwards, Louise had told Napoleon that she needed to be with one of the other mages, Montmorency, to make sure she was alright from the tragedy. And he had decided to confront the headmaster about what he had noticed. Derflinger was left back in Louise's room, as he didn't want the sword to say anything inopportune.
"We should attempt to make this short. The princess and a squadron of guards will be arriving shortly to protect this place. They'll probably come to relieve me as well, though perhaps Brimir will protect me."
"Well, then I perhaps I should stay. I would dearly love to meet the ruler of this realm."
Osmond looked up in response to that statement.
"It's as I suspected. You're not from Helgekinia, or even this world, are you?"
Napoleon gave no response, which both men knew was a tacit confirmation. The headmaster rubbed his eyes and spoke up.
"That girl really summoned a strange servant. "
"Partner."
"Excuse me?"
The Emperor's expression never broke as he continued past Osmond's inquiry.
"I said partner. I introduced myself as the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. I am – was – the ruler of the entire world until I was summoned. I do not serve anyone or anything. The fact that I am choosing to be equals with Valliere is enough of a sign of my graciousness.
But that is for the moment, unimportant. I came to speak about that girl and her magic. What would you say about the possibility that she is a Void mage?"
"How did you come to that conclusion?"
"That is also unimportant. I am interested in your response."
Osmond grimaced at how Napoleon deflected his question, before speaking.
"Do you have a weapon on you?"
Napoleon had a guess about Osmond was after, and deftly pulled out the flintlock pistol with his left hand. Just as it had done on that night, the strange markings started glowing.
"It appears that you were right, Colbert. Those are the runes of Gandalfr."
"Gandalfr?"
It was Colbert whom spoke up to Napoleon's inquiry.
"He was one of the legendary Brimir's familiars. Gandalfr, the Left Hand of God, was someone who could instantly learn how to wield any weapon he grasped. It was a familiar whom could protect Brimir as he casted his Void magic."
"So, Brimir was a Void mage."
"Correct."
"Meaning that Louise is most likely one."
"Yes."
Silence followed that simple yet profound statement by Osmond. Colbert was the one who decided to follow up on him.
"It is probably best that Louise herself knows, but no one else. It's for her safety. She'll be used by the crown until she's a husk if they find out her power."
"Well, that's surprising. Given the way everyone's talked about this princess and her mercy and justice, I'm surprised she would do such a thing. And Louise doesn't need or want protection. She wants self-respect."
Colbert narrowed his eyes. The familiar had said the exact same words Osmond had used when he had talked about the necessity of the crown intervening about the girl. But after the disaster with Fouquet, he wished that the Headmaster had heeded his advice.
"I'll respect her, as she's my partner. It'll be her decision whether she wants to reveal it. Now, why don't we talk about exactly it entails to become a Void Mage?"
...
Princess Henrietta de Tristain gave an unhappy smile as she crossed the threshold of the Academy. She had never entered the place before, and she had always hoped for a chance to meet her old friend Louise again. Louise had been a playmate to the princess, and so Henrietta always considered the Valliere girl to be her closest friend and confidant.
But this wasn't the time for her own, personal wishes, though she knew with a heart grateful to Brimir that Louise had not been harmed. A place as valuable as the Academy that had just been attacked meant that it would be necessary to post guards here on a regular basis, and all the more so given that she was here temporarily. Agnes, the captain of her Musketeers, was already directing orders to the regular permanent guards about where they were to be posted. Later, she would hold a strategy meeting about how to track down and capture the great thief. This would be absolutely necessary given the anger of the nobles.
For now, she would talk with Osmond. The nobles had not hesitated in calling for his head, but she refused. As far as she was concerned, Osmond had done well enough in preventing the loss of further life, while someone whom was more concerned with protecting the Treasury might have risked the lives of all the students. Even the Staff of Destruction possessed no value compared to the lives of the nobility.
She swung the door open. There were three people there, all crowded among a text. She recognized two of them, Osmond the headmaster and the professor Colbert, both of whom dropped to one knee in the presence of the princess. The third person did not, even as he was dressed like a mage. He simply stared at her with a blank expression.
"You must be the princess."
Osmond and Colbert stared at the man with an expression of disbelief at the tone he had used. There was not the slightest hint of deference, something which took even the princess by surprise. However, he then abruptly gave a wonderful bow, with one that would have impressed her finest servants.
"My honor then, Princess Henrietta de Tristain. I am the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. I was summoned by the mage Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière to be her partner."
"Louise? You know her? Wait, you couldn't possibly be her familiar?"
"Partner, not familiar. I am no one's servant, princess."
Osmond and Colbert's expressions had not changed, and even Henrietta was taken aback. This man had called himself an Emperor, something which no ruler would dare. Only one whom had united all of Helgekinia and driven the elves out of the Holy Land would have the right to declare himself Emperor.
Napoleon began speaking again.
"I'm sure you have plenty to talk about with those two concerning this incident, so I shall take my leave."
He strode out of the office, but then stopped upon reaching the threshold.
"You seem to be familiar with my partner. Stop and talk with her. You can talk about whatever past you have with her….. And it would be nice for two rulers to have a conversation with one another."
It was not quite a command, but it was more than just a request. It was a statement given with authority, as if he expected her to obey. But he walked out before she could even give a response one way or the other. She didn't know what to make of the man, but it seemed apparent to her that the other two men didn't know either.
"Is that the man really Louise's familiar?"
Osmond shrugged in response.
"It appears so. He's always claimed to be an Emperor from the moment we summoned him. Anyways, Majesty, we must focus on our efforts to capture Fouquet."
"Yes. Yes, of course."
Henrietta took out a scroll of parchment and laid it on the desk. It was a map of the Academy and the surrounding areas.
"So, do we have absolutely any idea about Fouquet's current location?"
Colbert nodded.
"We do have some idea. A golem as large as hers will inevitably leave tracks, so it appears that Longueville – I mean Fouquet – disengaged it as soon as she deemed it was safe, about two miles to the southeast of the Academy. The problem is that it's been 18 hours since the incident. She's definitely had to rest for a long time at some point or another to recover from the intense spell she used and because I doubt she would go crashing around without her golem in the woods in the night, but that still means she's had at least 6 hours at this point to make her escape.
Fouquet will definitely be making her escape to the border, and it'll probably be to Gallia – given your upcoming marriage to the Germanian king, there is no reason whatsoever she would flee there. We also know that she was commissioned, or more likely forced to steal the staff by someone else whose identity remains unknown. We'll find that out when she's captured."
"What about Albion?"
"She'd need a ship to get there, and that will not happen."
Henrietta simply stared at Colbert's reassurance, and then came to a decision.
"I'll double, no triple, the guards at the ports. They are to find and inspect every single person who enters any of the ship. Fouquet will be heading to Albion."
Colbert looked towards her princess in surprise.
"Why do you say that?"
"She is a thief, someone outside the law. And what better places for someone like that to go than a place as chaotic as Albion? I'd also guess that her commissioner is an Albionese.
I'll tell Agnes about this myself, and she'll get them carried out. The ports are where we'll find and catch the thief and murderer."
...
"So, it appears that the chances are extremely high that you truly are a Void Mage."
Louise was currently crouched in a chair by the window of her room. Aside from pulling in her knees slightly further in, she gave no reaction.
"It appears that from what Osmond told me that Void is completely different. Your ordinary magic seems to work on a pattern of dot, line, triangle, and square, with the latter becoming the most powerful. And there are also four elements, wind, water, earth, and fire. Some mages have one element which they work on for maximum effect, while others have two which they can combine to work together. Kirche is the former, and Tabitha is the latter."
"Yeah, I know about all of that."
Napoleon was standing in front of the door, his back leaning against it. He chose to carry on while ignoring her mumblings.
"Void doesn't work like that, and from what we've seen from you, it fits. The problem then is that since there are no Void teachers, you'll have to figure out Void more or less by yourself."
"But that's ridiculous! I can't do such a thing!"
"Why can't you? Brimir did. I expect nothing less from my partner than that she will not equal Brimir, she will surpass Brimir. You'll figure it out. Besides, I already suspect you've already figured one Void spell out."
"What?"
Napoleon did not break a beat and continued.
"The only things you seem to be able to do are explosions. Whenever you try to create a spell, you end up making an explosion. The fact that you do it consistently, no matter what spell you're trying to cast, is the odd part. How do you know that your explosion isn't actually Void magic? I have no idea what Void magic would actually look like, after all.
So, rather than seeing your explosions as a sign of your failure to cast the spells of a normal mage, work to cast bigger and better explosions."
"But how do I do that?"
"I am not a mage, I do not know. That is something that a Void mage should be able to discover without difficulties.
Perhaps you should talk to Derflinger. You can speak from time to time, you know."
The sword rattled in response, but did not say a word. For whatever reason, it had remained generally silent ever since its conversation in the woods this morning, only pausing to make all sorts of ridiculous lewd jokes on seeing some of Louise's female classmates.
The two of them fell silent, only to be interrupted by a knock on the door. After glancing at Louise, Napoleon turned around and opened it.
"Well, this is a surprise. I had not expected you to drop by so early, Princess Henrietta de Tristain."
Louise sprang up, both at the presence of her old friend and the fact that Napoleon seemed to know her, while the Emperor gave off a smile which once again did not reach his eyes. To finally have a conversation with a true authority was something he would be looking forward to.